Baishazhou, this kind of connected plain area, is the most suitable terrain for human settlement.
Now that the environment is changing for the better, early concentrated development of farmland is indeed a reasonable and good strategy.
In addition, Yan Luo proposed the development of salt industry, and he also thought of it with Zhou Bai.
In the past, the world was unified, with the Ningjiang River leading to the Tianjiang River and the Tianjiang River connecting to the ocean.
With smooth water transportation, it is very convenient for dragon boats to travel between the inland and the coast. Even Dingzhou does not have to worry about cheap sea salt.
Bei'an County had been established for less than a century, so its political resources were naturally insufficient, and there was no support from the central government.
Therefore, the governors and county governors of all dynasties did not think of wasting manpower and material resources to develop salt-producing land in Baishazhou. This was actually a limitation of the system.
If Zhou Bai can capture Biancheng County and unify the northern part of the state, then the development of salt mines, well salt, and salt ponds will be a success.
In an era when all countries stand side by side, sea salt will not be so cheap if it enters inland areas.
Under the rule, salt and iron monopoly can only be achieved by iron. If the salt-producing land can be effectively controlled, salt can also be monopolized, and the finance and taxation will increase greatly.
"The Salt Iron House will contact you. As the only civil affairs officer of Baishazhou, you must assist in matters related to farming and salt development."
"Write a report and submit it to the governor's office for discussion, and then finalize the development procedures." Zhou Bai nodded slightly, acknowledging what Yan Luo said.
But that's it, it still depends on how you perform next. Baishazhou is a good place to display your talents.
"Here." Yan Luo bowed and responded. He obviously understood what Zhou Bai meant and didn't say much.
At this time, He Zhiwu, after listening to the two people's questions and answers, seemed to have thought of something, but he was a little hesitant to say it.
Zhou Bai frowned and said in a deep voice: "I am open to speaking out, so I will say whatever I have to say."
He Zhiwu hurriedly apologized, hurried to the roadside not far away, pulled out a few grasses and came back.
Holding the green grass in his hands, he explained: "Back to the Governor, I have been conducting field surveys in the past few days and found that this kind of grass has grown in many places after the spiritual change, and it has a tendency to grow densely."
"There are one hundred and twenty war horses in the garrison. Each horse has been fed and tested. It has no rejection and can be used as staple food."
"The specific impact may require professional grooms from stables to identify and raise them for a period of time."
Zhou Bai took the grass and looked at it carefully. It was violet green, smelling of vanilla, green and tender, and had a very light aura.
This era is an era of spiritual energy recovery. The spiritual energy level of the entire Tianyuan Continent has risen to more than one level, and countless lives are working hard to make the leap.
However, even though the aura content has far exceeded what it used to be, there are still very few creatures that can undergo spiritual transformation.
Most animals and plants have undergone some changes in appearance, but they are only affected by the environment. They are still mortal objects, with no aura remaining in their bodies.
Now, the new grass on Baisha Island can retain a trace of spiritual energy in its leaves, which is very rare. It belongs to a plant group with evolutionary potential.
Zhou Bai had a certain judgment in his mind, so he called to the dragon horse wandering in the distance: "Ji Jing, come here."
Jingjing came running, thinking that the owner was asking it to do something good, but when he saw that he was letting it eat grass, he immediately became unhappy.
There was a hot white breath coming out of its nostrils, but it refused to open its mouth, as if eating some grass would be abusing it.
"You are also a horse, why are you being pretentious? Let's test it and see if it has any effect on ordinary war horses." Zhou Bai laughed a little angrily and slapped the horse on the head. It was really used to delicacies from the mountains and the sea.
Jing Jing had no choice but to open his mouth and eat it. Unexpectedly, the taste was unexpectedly good.
Soon it communicated with its mind and told Zhou Bai that this was a spiritual grass and was very suitable for ordinary war horses.
But it is not suitable for horses that need to eat meat. It can only be used for desserts after meals to eliminate food.
After listening to Jie Jing's appraisal, Zhou Bai knew that this grass was probably also useful to dragon horses and it was good fodder.
Zhou Bai drove Jie Jing away, turned around and asked He Zhiwu, "Do you mean to build a ranch to raise horses in Baishazhou?"
He Zhiwu took a deep breath and replied: "The Governor is wise. As far as the general knows, there are no large pastures in Bei'an and Ruinan. Baishazhou is located south of Cangshan Mountain, which is just suitable."
"There are many plains in the north. If the governor wants to dominate the north, it is inevitable to form a larger cavalry. Purchasing war horses in the early stage can be called a temporary measure, but there must be a pasture to breed and raise war horses later."
"The grassland countries such as Jin and Xianbei are very ambitious and will inevitably go south if they have the opportunity. They must be on guard."
Looking around Baisha Town, you can see as far as the eye can see. The rich greenery on the white soil exudes the breath of life.
Zhou Bai laughed, patted He Zhiwu on the shoulder and praised: "Hahaha, Dashan, Baishazhou is so big, so let's do some farming in parallel. Next, you should cooperate well with Yan Dianshi and strive to build Baishazhou into a fortress. Jiangnan.”
In his eyes, the ability to transcend one's own limitations and maintain a broader perspective is an essential element of great potential.
He Zhiwu was stunned for a moment, and then saw Yan Luo congratulating him. He didn't understand why he was about to be promoted.
While waiting for the main force to catch up, Zhou Bai didn't do much to check the construction work of this simple city, except Zhou Bai who was riding a Jijing for a stroll.
Because the governor's office had not invested much resources before this.
You know, at the beginning, Chu Kai was just a guard who was transferred to the cavalry, and the Baisha garrison only had a hundred people from his own headquarters.
Later, the governor asked Zhou Bai for instructions, and it was clarified that the administrative level of Baisha Town was a special "deputy county level" above the township level and below the county level, and then additional troops and resources were deployed.
The number of troops in Baisha Town reached 500 in one battalion, and civil servants were also stationed in the official residence to assist Chu Kai in handling affairs.
It's just that because there are so few outsiders passing through Baishazhou, these civil servants have not yet played any role.
It was not until Yan Luo, the first civil servant of Baisha Town, arrived that he started to register the resources and land of Baishazhou.
Zhou Bai walked through a field not far from Baisha Town and happened to see several civil servants and more than a dozen soldiers busy measuring new fields.
This was a normal scene, but Zhou Bai always felt that the energy in them was stronger than the current officials in the Governor's Mansion.
It was very familiar, and suddenly he understood that this was the energy he had accumulated in Pingcang and worked hard to create a foundation.
A single spark can start a prairie fire. The blanker the paper, the easier it is to spread the pen and ink...
Looking out, I could see the vast expanse of Baishazhou, and there was a faint white air rising from the originally barren land.
Looking at its future climate, it seems that it is no less basic and good luck than any piece of mature fertile land.
In particular, an area centered on Baisha Town has been initially developed, and the rising white gas is like gurgling water smoke without stopping.
Just now, there was actually a connection between clouds and mist in the sky above Baisha City, and it was also continuously providing luck support to the central governor's office in the distance.
It is an unexpected blessing to have this experimental area, which can be compared and confirmed with other administrative counties.
What these ordinary civil servants didn't know was that because of them, Zhou Bai decided to upgrade the administrative level of Baisha Town again after the founding of the country.
That night, the army gathered in Baisha Town to rest, and Chu Kai also returned in time.
Zhou Bai did not sleep in the garrison in the city, but lived in the Chinese army tent outside the city. Because of Chu Kai's report, the lights were still bright here in the middle of the night.
Chu Kai is an old subordinate and a promising cavalry leader. Ever since he was transferred to the deserted Baisha Town, he has been working conscientiously and without any resentment.
"The general has walked through the marching route completely, and he can take charge of the guide himself... Shazhou City is estimated to only have one battalion of weak soldiers guarding it, and there are no signs of development around it. It seems that the changes in Baishazhou have not been noticed yet... Pass Shazhou City is Hougang County..."
The relevant information was quickly reported, and a group of generals and staff members spoke out from time to time, asking for more detailed information, and then adding to the previous temple calculations.
After midnight, the tent was completely empty, leaving only Chu Kai and Zhou Bai.
"It's been almost a year. Your old brothers have fought on the battlefield and made many military exploits. Now they have a higher official position than you, the eighth-grade warden. What do you think?" Zhou Bai looked at Chu Kai with a half-smile.
Chu Kai's face did not change, and he replied seriously: "If you say you don't feel a sense of loss, you are deceiving yourself. But when my lord comes to the farm and pulls me out, Chu Kai should die in retribution."
"I knew from the beginning that you had a deep intention in sending me to guard this place. At least now it can be used as a food and grass transfer station."
Zhou Bai could naturally hear the sincerity in his words, without any falsehood.
Since he is a loyal minister and good general, he should be promoted.
"Chu Kai, have you made any progress in your martial arts this year?" Zhou Bai asked a little abruptly.
Chu Kai was a little confused, but out of absolute obedience to Zhou Bai, he immediately beat his chest and saluted, and said confidently: "The general has always regarded himself as a cavalry commander, and now he thinks that he is not inferior to any man on the grassland. long."
Commander, this self-evaluation can be said to be very high for the Central Plains cavalry general. Drawing the bow from left to right and hitting the target with perfect accuracy are all basic skills.
Being in charge of one side, coupled with the cultivation of official aura, my destiny is finally going to change.
Zhou Bai narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the top of Chu Kai's head. A red stick broke through the evil aura of the surrounding soldiers, as if he could defeat the army with a single horse.
"Chu Kai listened to the order and now appoints you as the deputy commander of the cavalry army. You will lead 1,500 cavalry as the vanguard and set off at the third watch."
"Here we go, one is to attack and capture Shazhou City, and the other is to cover the outskirts of Border City County, so as not to alert the enemy!"
When Chu Kai walked out of the tent with the Horse Army Tiger Talisman, he had not yet come to his senses. He was stunned for a moment, and then he knelt down outside the tent with red eyes and kowtowed three times.
One year after being "assigned" to the frontier, he became one of the few high-ranking generals in the army, which shocked both inside and outside Baisha Town.
This made many middle- and lower-level officers who were usually loyal and unknown feel confident again, and Yan Luo, who had not slept all night, was also excited.
When working under the governor, don't be afraid of being buried.
…
After that, the army marched westward on Baishazhou without any accidents. It was just that the endless march route without landmarks was a bit boring.
If the forwards didn't have sentry reports from time to time, many soldiers might have thought they were going the wrong way.
After accompanying the main force on the eight-day march, Zhou Bai finally realized why Biancheng County and Bei'an County were connected by land, but they were separated by a chasm.
The journey was too far. If we had not ensured logistics at all costs in advance and marked the water source points in advance, even if Baishazhou was no longer a bad land, it would have been difficult to cross it with an army.
On August 18, when he was only one day away from Shazhou City controlled by Border City County, Chu Kai lived up to expectations and brought good news to Zhou Bai.
The defenders of Shazhou City did not expect that there would be an enemy surprise attack in the east of Baishazhou, and they were rushed down.
After the defenders learned that they were not Jin people, they decisively chose to surrender. It happened that the behavior of this small town allowed Zhou Bai to see the attitude of the people in the border town.
Maybe they don't mind having a different king above their heads?
Biancheng County is named after the city wall that stretches for hundreds of miles on the northern border.
In the later period of Daxu, the national power declined, and the national policy of expansion was changed to defense and defense. Until Emperor Xiangxing ascended the throne, this conservative style reached its peak.
In order to prevent the grassland nomads from continuing to bleed the northern border, each border state has taken corresponding defensive measures, and building the Great Wall is the most common method.
Biancheng County was renamed. Before the construction of the Great Wall, it was just an ordinary military state like Cangbei County, with no development of people's livelihood.
Of course, until now, Biancheng County is still the poorest county in Dingzhou.
After Daxu changed to a defensive national policy and stopped expanding northward, Biancheng County lost a large number of people. Today, there are one county and five counties, with a population of only 500,000.
However, we can't afford to raise more. It's not long since the transition from pastoralism to farming in Border City County, and the land is not fertile enough.
On August 19, Anbei Army entered Shazhou City.
This city corresponds to Baisha Town, which also plays a checkpoint and transit role. It is usually a place that no one cares about.
After Zhou Bai saw the defenders here, he understood why the messengers who reported the good news felt a little embarrassed under his praise.
It was really not difficult to capture Shazhou City. There were more than a hundred soldiers, all of them were sallow, thin, unkempt, and looked nothing like soldiers.
After asking, I found out that they only ate one porridge every day. Not to mention defending the city, they were lucky not to starve to death.
And even so, no one in the Shazhou City defenders was willing to leave, just because the ordinary people in the rear were even worse off.
Border City County is a forgotten corner. The imperial court and the state government have no control over it. It has been devastated by several natural and man-made disasters and is already in a state of collapse.
Being located in a border county with no Ningjiang River flowing through it, Bei'an County was able to withstand severe floods and droughts with little loss because of its good foundation and Zhou Bai's advance planning.
Who can the cities and counties rely on? They can only resist forcefully. In name, they belong to the imperial court, but in fact, the central government and the state government have nothing to do with it.
Half a year ago, the governor of Biancheng County abandoned his official position. Now Biancheng County is jointly governed by several large families. Only they can barely have the food and strength to maintain the most basic order.
According to the defenders, only one warship landed in Biancheng County, and it is still attacking the county town.
The county once wanted to seek refuge with Lu Ding in the hope of receiving assistance, but was ruthlessly rejected.
Just because of the famine in Border City County, half a million mouths are really a bottomless pit. Once they are taken in, it will definitely slow down Lu Ding's progress in conquering Dingxi.
When they heard that Zhou Bai wanted to take over Biancheng County, the more than 100 defenders were not angry. Instead, they all cheered and wanted to lead the way.
When a continuous stream of grain trucks appeared outside Hougang County, the soldiers and civilians descended from the city without firing an arrow.
(End of chapter)
